


Saying Goodbye

by Danny (DannyC)



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Heavy Angst, pet death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 08:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7969978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DannyC/pseuds/Danny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Titus is getting old and at his latest trip to the vet, they're given bad but expected news; Alfred calls in the kids to say their goodbyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saying Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt I was given in which Titus dies in someone's arms. It's not gruesome or gory, he's just old and sick; it's his time, and the family comes to say goodbye before he goes.

It had been a long time coming, and as sad as it was, the majority of them couldn’t truly be surprised. Titus was getting old, and Danes didn’t have the longest lifespans. They’d taken him to the vet after he’d grown more quiet than usual, too lethargic, and the prognosis was grim; taking him home, Bruce had sent word to the others to let them know that Titus didn’t have long, in case any of the children wanted to come and say goodbye.

Tim arrived first, choosing to visit soon lest he arrive too late. It wasn’t just that though. As terrible as it may have seemed, he wanted to get it over with. He hated seeing Titus tired and slow, more likely to lay on the floor all day than get up and run around like he used to. It hurt, seeing him this way, and Tim didn’t want to remember him sick and tired. He and Conner arrived together, as they always did; Conner tried to interest Titus in some fun but the dog chose to walk over to their feet, lying down there so he could be pet. 

Together, Tim and Conner spent a few hours just loving on him, Tim silent and Kon talking quietly to him, telling Titus what a good dog he was, or how much they all loved him. It was hard, seeing just how much Tim was hurting, struggling to keep his breathing even when Kon could hear his heart pounding away in his chest. After a few hours, Tim stood up and silently excused himself, going to say bye to Bruce, Alfred, and even Damian before Kon stood too, giving Titus a few final pats and joining Tim once more, the two leaving together as they’d come; death was still hard on Tim, and no amount of compartmentalization could save him, but Kon was there that night when Tim broke down, one impending death reminding him of so many before.

The next to arrive was Dick, his time spent split between trying to talk with Damian and visiting with Titus. He was worried about how Damian was going to take all of this, how he was _already_ taking it, but Damian shut down each attempt at talking. In the end, Dick spent a few days trying before he gave up, the last day spent loving on Titus and telling him how much he was loved before Dick left too, returning home where Barbara waited for him. 

He felt sad and uncertain, like he needed to be doing something, but there was nothing to be done. He couldn’t save Titus, and he couldn’t help Damian. Babs was there to comfort him though, his rock in unsteady waters, his ground when he felt so adrift. 

Damian, who still lived at home, spent the majority of his time pretending nothing was wrong, that nothing had changed. He moved around the manor like always, training and studying, doing his usual daily activities but slower, his pace shifted to allow for Titus to keep up. That wasn’t normal, and it didn’t escape his notice, how tired his best friend seemed these days. 

Death was strange for Damian; he understood the logistics, the physicality of death. He understood what it meant for one’s body to stop working, for their pulse to cease and blood to still in their veins, and settle. He knew what it meant in the sense that he had learned about it, and that he’d caused it several times, but death had never been something that happened to those he cared for, those he loved. Death was for others, for those less fortunate; his family had always been above death, or had used a Lazarus Pit to revive themselves at the brink of it. His Father, Richard, even Todd had escaped or feigned death, and to now be told that his best friend could not do the same, it was too much for his young mind to wrap around completely. Damian Wayne did not understand, and rather than admit that, he pretended it wasn’t happening.

When Jason arrived last, it was in time to see Steph and Cass leaving, Stephanie crying while Cassandra rested a hand lightly on one of her shoulders, silently comforting her while they walked to Steph’s car together. Jason paused and swallowed, already afraid he was too late to say goodbye, but when he entered through the doorway to the manor he heard a familiar thumping, his eyes soon finding Titus lying down with his tail thudding loudly against the floorboards. 

“Hey boy,” Jason greeted, “I brought you some treats.” He’d been told that Titus had recently been refusing to eat or drink, that he hadn’t been as willing to move. It would be soon, Alfred had assured him, and Jason had promised himself that he’d stay until it was over. Jason glanced up to see Damian seated in a chair with a book, apparently reading with Titus at his feet. “Hey brat,” he greeted, but there was no malice in the moniker, “How’s the demon spawn today?” Jason’s question was met with a sharp -tt- sound, but otherwise nothing, Damian turning the page in his book soon thereafter.

Jason shrugged it off mentally, deciding Damian was probably fine if he was just sitting there reading, and instead went to visit with Titus. He sat on the couch, then patted the cushion beside him, but Titus didn’t jump up to join him. “Okay,” he said, “That’s okay buddy. I’ve got you,” he assured, bending down to pick the large dog up and set him on the couch. Damian paused his reading to watch, watching as Jason laid part of Titus in his lap before he slowly stood, Damian moving to sit at Todd’s side, holding Titus’ head in his lap as he pretended to continue reading, speaking softly to Titus in his native tongue. 

Jason understood Arabic, knew exactly what Damian was saying, and God if it didn’t hurt him. Damian switched between asking Titus not to leave him and promising that if he had to, he wouldn’t be angry. It became clear to him that Damian had no clue what he was supposed to be doing, how he should be feeling. He had grown up thinking of death as nothing; not only did his family apparently never die, but taking the lives of others had been easy for him, that only changing when he became Dick’s Robin. 

Jason swallowed some but stayed quiet, letting Damian talk to his dog as they both pet Titus lightly. Titus, for his part, was licking their fingers and their faces, clearing away Damian’s tears before they could fall. Jason blinked his own back, wrapping one arm around Damian’s shoulders while his other hand continued smoothing over Titus’ fur slowly, soothing and gentle. “It’s okay,” he said quietly, to both Titus and to Damian, “It’s okay.” 

Permission seemed to be what Damian was waiting for, but as his dam broke and he began crying, Titus whined faintly and licked his face again, nosing into his stomach when he grew too tired to keep lifting his head. Damian sobbed as he spoke to Titus some more, begging him not to leave him, telling him how much he loved him, and God, that got to Jason. Jason sniffled and wiped at his own tears, hugging Damian and Titus close to him, holding them both.

It only took a few minutes more. They could feel it as the life left the dog, a soft whine escaping him before Titus seemed to sigh, relaxing in their laps. Damian gave a broken sound, his hands coming up to cover his face as he curled in on himself, hiding his face in Titus’ fur. Jason was shocked; though he’d known the time was coming, he still wasn’t truly prepared. He wiped harshly at his face, trying to hold himself together as he began rubbing Damian’s back, the boy still crying over his dog, his best friend.

Alfred came to see what was the matter and Jason looked at him, giving a little shake of his head. He sighed, nodding faintly before he went to make a few calls, returning a few moments later to rest his hand on master Damian’s shoulder, giving him a little squeeze. Their relationship was far from as rocky as they let others think, Alfred viewing Damian as a grandson and Damian, in turn, seeing Pennyworth as another Grandfather. Jason and Alfred gave Damian silent comfort, Bruce joining them soon enough; Jason was upset enough that he didn’t mind when Bruce pulled him into a hug as well, the group holding onto one another and Damian as he cradled Titus, his dog, his best friend, in his lap.


End file.
